What a fun trip!! Tyler and Kaleigh and I just got
back from visiting Rob Long and his girls (Emily and Sarah) in Klamath
Falls, Oregon. Here are some highlights of the trip.

(Click on an image for a larger view)

The weekend started with a continental shoot at
Winema Lodge in Tulelake on
the California side of the border.
A continental shoot is where the shooters set up in a valley and the
birds are released from a ridge above them. Rob was going to help
his friends at the lodge by helping out with the bird release and
invited us along. This particular shoot is a Shriners fund raiser.

After the Shriners left, the work began! There
were a total of six of us chukar chuckers moving cages, cutting zip
ties, releasing birds and getting our asses shot at. Tyler was
kind enough to show us all right where one of the bbs hit him on his
left butt cheek with the collective response being "I DID NOT NEED TO
SEE THAT!!" We released a total of 300 pheasants and 100 chukars....um...

Ok...99 chukars. This is Chuckie the Chukar.
Kaleigh stuffed him down in her coat and he stowed away on the trip
home. He's now living the life of Riley in our garage in a rabbit
cage. Lucky chukar!!

Tyler spent the night at the lodge with Ethan so we went
to pick him up on Sunday. We hunted the top of the hill behind the
lodge and Rob got Kaleigh close enough for her to shoot her first bird.
When asked about shooting Chuckie's sibling, Kaleigh said "It was his
sister...he didn't like her anyways". After lunch we headed out to
Lava Beds National Monument for
an abbreviated tour then off to a dirt road so the girls could ride the
quad. These are truly the three prettiest women on the planet!!

We wound up at an old homestead called Laird's Cow Camp.
It was so much fun exploring all of the old stuff with the kids.
The house is still standing along with some other outbuildings and
fences.

The girls climbed up into the top of the old horse barn.
Um...Bubba chose not to because it didn't appear the ladder would hold
him. These ladies need to do a Gap commercial!!

Tyler found one of a handful of old Olympia beer cans
(the kind with the pop tops). Um...Ty...there's nothing left in
there buddy. Just prior to this incident was one of the funniest
things I've ever seen. Tyler was walking on top of an old 55
gallon drum. He lost his balance, one foot went forward and the
other one went backward. The barrel rolled forward, his feet flew
up and he landed flat on his back. I was laughing so hard I went
to my knees and was crying. Check out the dirt on his shoulder.

I begin to think that Tyler was put on this planet for
the sole enjoyment of the people around him. Here he is
impersonating a human hamster in the human hamster wheel.

On Monday, we drove around the roads on the backside of
Rob's place. The girls rode the quad again. They were lucky.
Rob and I were trapped inside the truck while Tyler serenaded us with
made up songs about things better left unspoken. Rob cut sections
out of a couple trees that beavers had knocked over so the girls could
take them to school.

Rob and the kids at the "beaver tree" location.

We really had a wonderful time and the area was SO
beautiful. It truly is God's country!